Puppy Pictures 2

"Sam" or whatever I decide to call him other than "Puppy," is growing so fast!

(Sam with his serious face, he is the most serious looking puppy I've ever seen! I think it's the wrinkles.)







Today mom showed me a Beany Baby and said, remember when he was THIS small???



I haven't weighed him this week, but he must be close to 20 lbs. (Blacky is 50 to 55 lbs.) "Sam" is about 3 1/2 months now.
He has been on 5 walks now with Blacky. Seeing the world has really matured him.

Today he didn't maul Blacky in the face, he licked him! (Blacky as a puppy was worse. He chewed Queenie's ears so much when he was teething, she got a hematoma and needed it drained. The vet said they'd always hate each other, but it never happened again.)




He fetches. I am ever amazed. He comes back with the toy and sits and even drops it if I don't try to get it. And he knows "sit" and he is always trying to one-up Blackie and he succeeds.

He is 99% potty trained now. No crate training, because he'd freak out if I locked him in one of them, and no "rubbing noses in it."
He had picked a spot in the room where he liked to go. I got rid of the rest of the newspapers in the room and used those "pee pads" instead. He stopped doing #2 inside about 2 weeks ago. Recently I put up an obstacle course where the pee pads were, and voila, he goes outside because it's easier!

Also, he has figured out how to open the (garage) door if he leans on it and it's not closed tight! Has not figured out the handle yet, but he is still too short. (Blackie always let Queenie open the doors, so he never bothered to learn how.)

Today his ears started standing up on their own. They are going to be big ears.
Last week he started to shed, he is more red now, instead of sandy.
I'm glad to see his new hair is growing longer, for a week he resembled a pit bull!

The big ears, smiling, and about to roll over:

Process of elimination. A long story of Potty Training.

All about potty training with the new puppy!

Sam is doing fantastic and Blackie is being a doll.

The first few days I confined Sam to a crate, mostly in case Blackie would hurt him and after they knew each other, I could let them roam the same room together.

Blackie is the kind of dog that will roll over on his squeaky toy, (the kind you could give a chihuaha) and freak out if he accidently makes it squeak! And I can turn the rabbit out of the cage and Blackie will ignore it, even when I have to chase the rabbit all over to get him to go back in his cage!
So, I knew he'd get along with any sort of puppy.
I was more worried about what would happen if I fell for one of the hundreds of sweet pit bulls at the pound, but I did not, now I have a puppy.

Mostly we are dealing with paper training, because the puppy goes every hour, and unless I wake him up every hour and walk him outside right then, he will go on the paper. Luckily I am an OCD freak who never sleeps.

We have the room entirely covered with paper. Our own newspaper is not enough but luckily "work" gets both local papers AND a chinese paper!

(I wish I could read Chinese, for the 1000th time, because they had a full page ad about designer handbags and I want to know where I can get a knock-off in LA...)

If I wake him up and we walk outside immediately, he goes very well on the grass and avoids all the pavement, even! (Mike the abnormal collie was never cured of that...)

If he HAS to go inside, like when I'm not there, he goes on 2 certain areas in about 25% of the room, not randomly which is great too! I still pick up the dirty papers all day long. If it goes through the paper onto the floor, I clean it up right away with enzyme cleaner, which is supposed to suppress the odor and discourage from using that spot again.

There is a "Pee" pad right near the doggie door, but he never used it all week!
Today I moved it closer to the area where he pees (about 3 feet away). We have had no accidents yet. I am hoping he will use it instead of the general newspaper.

According to the rules of paper training, eventually he will go on the pee pad and I will move it toward the door, until the day he only goes outside.

According to the rules of housebreaking, it can take 6 months but I think it will be much sooner than that.

The bad news is that the 25% of the room where he eliminates, is where Blackie used to sleep! I have a suspicion that Blackie brings the pee smell with him on his long hair. He gets more baths now.

Mom says the past few weeks Blackie had been sleeping outside at night, anyway, by their window. I feel bad for him losing his daytime spot (under the table) but I have found him inside too, so he is not totally disgusted by the puppy.

Sam has a "crate" which ended up being Queenie's old dirty crate and not the nicer one that Blackie doesn't use either, just because of where we put them and which one was easier.
I stopped closing him inside all night after only a couple days because he would just crap everywhere, and everything I read about potty training discourages that until they are older, because he would just soil his sleeping area. It is best to let them pick their spot at first, when they are so small, and it seems to work, even if it uses more newspaper.

He doesn't sleep in the crate now that he is free, but we propped the crate door open so he can eat inside and Blackie can't steal his dish. (We did this with the kitten we had a few years ago.)

The dog door (to the yard) is also propped open but so far, the new pup seldom uses it, unless I wake him up and he follows me outside.

Just now I was sitting outside and I kicked over the water dish under the chair, and the puppy was disgusted and wouldn't walk near it! Definitely not a water dog.

He has also not fallen into our two fish ponds. Yet. It's amazing.
All of the dogs, cats, rabbits, and turtles I've ever had, have all walked right onto it like it was a puddle, and fell in, at least once. Queenie, who was 1/2 lab, fell in, thought about it, and "felI in" all that day long. It was fun to see the water instinct kick in, as opposed to the other animals who stayed away!

When Blackie was little he also fell in more than once, which led me to think he was part Lab, but he didn't enjoy it as much as Queenie, and stopped falling in, when he was adult. Even on hot days.

One day when the pond's pump failed and left it with 6" of water, Blackie took all the large goldfish out, and laid them in the yard. He was so proud. When I got home and freaked out, Queenie got mad, and was all over his case, if to say "it wasn't me!" I miss Queenie! I wanted another female, but Sam just stood out from the others in his litter. Then again, we are zoned for up to 3 dogs!

I'm glad Sam hasn't gotten drenched in the pond, he's too small and I'm afraid he'll catch a cold. I'm scared because I have the dog door open all the time.

(He also avoids the "canal" which is a small stream from the upper to the lower pond. He walks on the bridge. I am amazed.]
He is too small to see from one side of the yard to the other and he gets confused when Blackie runs all around him trying to entice him with a toy.

Since Blackie got sick a few months ago, I have 4 water buckets all over the yard so he won't drink from the pond, and neither does the puppy. (It ended up not being the pond water, anyway.)

I think "sam" will be housebroken by birthday, even if the internet suggests that some can't be housebroken until 6 months.

I got Blackie at 4 months and he was automatically housebroken.
Of course, Queenie wouldn't let him in the house either!
I don't anticipate these problems with these 2, but Sam is definitely the more assertive dog, but that's also why I picked his breed.

Sam is getting more shots on my birthday (the vet picked the date because of/in case he had his first set of shots) so I can finally take Blackie for walks again, and not worry about bringing home a germ.

Pictures of puppy

Sam

After several fruitless searches of the local shelters, I found an interesting mixed puppy on Craigslist, on Saturday. He is half (or 1/4?) Aussie and the rest german shepherd. I'm having some camera issues, I lost the charger since the hard drive crash...

Right away, Mom came up with the names Cinnamon and Sandy, which are too girly. I am tentatively naming him Sam. I think he will look like a Sam when he grows up.
Both mom and dad are really excited and they play with him too. I know what they really want is a grand kid but tough luck!

He chases Blacky around. Blacky is cool of course, but a little aloof, the puppy is really way too tiny to play with yet. Mostly Blacky will let him chew on him awhile, and then get up and sit across the room and watch, much like he does with the rabbits. Once in awhile Blacky will roll around on his back and act silly or pick up a toy, but the puppy doesn't get it yet.

We found the Uncle an Apartment! Also on Saturday. It is spitting distance away, in a recently upgraded part of the city. It is right next to the park. It is a really great 1 br with a kitchen, (downstairs because Aunt _ and Cousin _ complained about climbing stairs.) I'm afraid Uncle _ will complain because it is a loud neighborhood full of kids, but everyone else says it will be good for him to help him get over his problems. Today I am taking him to see it, and fill out the application...

The trans am has been running, with issues, all summer. Don adjusted something on the idle, which fixed the starting problem. I don't know if I mentioned the dyno, but when we dynoed it, whenever that was, it went all haywire and refused to cooperate with the computer, so we weren't able to adjust the fuel optimally.

On Memorial Day there was the LA Invasion weekend. There was a bad head on collision the day of the mountain cruise, between a Neon who was trying to pass our group and somebody coming down the mountain. It got in the paper, but I didn't see it because it happened 40 cars behind me.
The next day was drag racing. I made only 2 runs, the first one I screwed up and the 2nd one I did really well, but something broke in the car. I won both races regardless.
The 2nd race I left the line in an awesome way, and got a time of about 13.20, (Same as all the other races) but hit the finish line at only 90 mph instead of 102!
Apparently a lifter came loose and it felt like I broke the transmission, because of the noise and it lost power. Don whipped out his tools and took the valve cover off and put the lifter back in place, but everyone looked green and said it was the end for my motor (Again,) and eventually it will throw a rod. (that means blow a hole right through the motor like you shot it with a gun) Some people theorized that I somehow wore down a lobe on the camshaft, and the lifter would come loose again, until I change the camshaft which requires taking few days and a lot of things off the motor, (but not rebuilding it.) Which of course will NEVER HAPPEN.
It hasn't come loose again, and Don wants me to race or dyno whenever they decide to go again, and I am waiting for doom.

Holy crap. Where have I been? Is this thing still here?

So beautiful I want to cry.

Some comic artist, that I ought to recognize right off, made an alphabet A-Z pictures of various comics.
http://www.neillcameron.com/A_to_Z.html

If I had became a comic artist, I would make stuff like that.
(Instead I am nursemaid to a trans am, which has chosen to regress back to its non-operative state. The new fuel pump did nothing.)

I miss alumni group, I wonder if they still meet? I bet they do.
I bet they didn't catch my change of email, and I should ask somebody, even though they have my phone number and address. Or maybe they realized I'm not technically an alumni?
On Monday I accidentally went to the college to use their bathroom and I saw that the Original Don is still teaching. No way! If Don is there then that means they must still be meeting!

In other news there was a DUI/DL checkpoint right across the street from the church. The police set up their headquarters in the park. Tomorrow is Cesar Chavez day, with supposedly fun stuff in the park. Coincidence? I did a lot of walking and made a lot of signs with arrows.














When things get boring, which they have NOT been lately, I will sometimes check out the Cassini Huygens website. This is the space craft that has been taking pictures of Saturn and its three dozen moons, every few months or so.
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/

Random space dust

I saw two very bright meteors tonight while cruising.
It's unusual to see any kind of stars around here, with the city lights and all. Also, it has been foggy or partly foggy, these days. I was sure it had to be a meteor shower.
At first I thought it was the Lyrid Meteor shower, but the website says that one peaks on APRIL 22 not March 22. So I am off by a month. It must just be random space dust.

Last night I saw my friend Damien at the grocery, he runs a community theater.
I think he says their next show opens next week, it's Joseph with a glam-rock flair. Knowing him, it promises to be racy and fun.
I wonder if I can take 2 Saturdays off in a row, because the big car club meeting, where everyone who insulted everyone else online will be there, is on April 3.

I am cooking chicken and watching the owl cam and reading about bizarre food.
I mistakenly bought regular sized chicken breasts, which take twice as long to cook.
Here are some inspirational websites:

Chicken in a can. Somebody brought this up last week...
http://www.avclub.com/articles/chicken-in-a-can,23883/

And I have been avoiding it but I finally saw the Hugh Jackman Lipton Iced Tea commercial.

Thursday, March 18

Nothing much going on today.
I drove the uncle around and in return he gave me an old wedding photo, and I borrowed one of Mike's CD's.
Van Halen, OU812, which completes my collection of Van Halen music. I intend to return it, because the uncle wants to give the music to either my brother or cousin, but I had to at least make a copy... Mike had a few cd's that I don't.

This is a really interesting, short You Tube video about a man who demonstrates an ancient Chinese martial art training method:
(cut and paste)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqnQj1Lx02Y&feature=featured&playnext_from=TL&videos=TfK0Es3UwtE&playnext=1
The most interesting part is where he says that these kinds of ancient learning practices are dying out, because nobody devotes their entire life to something. He says he learned it because there was nothing for young people to do in those days. Nowadays, "There are too many things to do" he says.
I totally agree, because as an artist I am always finding distractions. Like hot rods, horses and rock and roll...

The car is up and running, but it has some serious issues. It is missing all over, or backfiring at 2000 rpm. Sometimes it has days where it is perfect, like half of yesterday, then the rest of the time it's just a mess. It starts right away and then the next time it takes forever and I have to hold the throttle open. Sometimes I panic and think there is damage in the cylinder, but it's not showing any other signs. Yet. I am mostly convinced that I need new spark plug wires, because one of the boots falls off of one, but fixing it only helps for a day, or not at all.

On Monday I was convinced it was a dead cylinder. I borrowed the temperature gun, and the cylinder seems to be firing OK, it is the same temp as the others...

Ancient Chinese Curse

"May you live in interesting times."

Since I'm busy on two other message boards, I'll save it for later.

Happy place! Happy place. Happy place.

Aw, crumbs.

I got the afternoon off, so I can visit my friends at the dyno. I only hope that the club members don't kill each other before I get there.

Mom is sick with the flu, as well as another person at work, so I can't get out at noon like I hoped! The good news is that I'll be working for the sick person on Monday.

Today I went to the store and bought two seat covers for the GTA. They were cheap and black and faux leather. I bought black because I can never find the right shade of tan, and black goes with everything. Not.

Unfortunately, when I took them out of the package, they were two completely different designs, so I will have to return one. Unfortunately, they are also extremely ugly. Also, when I tried to put one on the seat, it made a hole in it. (The cover not the seat, the seat already has holes) So I'd feel guilty about returning that one.

I should have got the stretchy black kind, but those never have separate head rest covers. All because I can't afford to reupholster it right now...

When I was all done with THAT, which was midnight, I looked online on the smaller club board, and found that part of a comment I'd made earlier, was deleted. Also, two other people's comments were COMPLETELY deleted. It wasn't like we cussed, either. I was very mad. I had heard of this happening to friends of mine, but I never really noticed how bad things were, until one of my own posts was deleted.

The dyno event was supposed to be a secret, because we didn't want somebody to go, but unfortunately somebody else mentioned it was happening this weekend. The person nobody wants to see, has been trying to manage the event, even though he has nothing to do with getting the place or even bringing a car. (I think keeping it a secret was dumb, anyway. This was going to be the only non-rainy weekend all season, so of course we were going to dyno!)














I made some mad posts on both boards. I probably shouldn't have, but this has been pissing me off too long. I started to write mad posts after the last fiasco, last month, but I deleted them right away. Maybe I should have said something sooner...

The event hasn't even happened yet and I am afraid of what will go wrong this time!
I need to relax. Maybe everyone has settled all their problems.
And for all I know, my transmission will break before I even get there!
(I haven't touched the car since the mechanic found that loose cable...)

Anyway, I already decided months ago that I wasn't going to go to any more meetings, even though I'd miss seeing my friends. So if I go too far with what I say, and can't show my face among them again, I'll live. Although, the things I have to say, I'm pretty sure I can say to their faces.

I haven't gone anywhere fun these days, so I'll go through my archives and find some recent pictures that I haven't used...

Hooray! I'm still registered on the blog site.

Pic from Sunday. I found myself at my favorite hangout when I was at the university, the arboretum.

(I may sulk but I won't sit still when I can help it.)

Today was more of the same.
In other words, I stayed at home and sulked.
I watched the owl cam and I stayed far away from the barn. It should be dry, soon.
I don't like mud, but today I am angry enough to tackle some tree stumps and muddy holes.

Some creepy old dude at work hit on me. Unfortunately, I don't speak his language!
And no, I don't shop at the mall for rings, and especially not with you, sir. If I had $500 I'd get a new set of tires. I don't know how to say tires in your language, but one day. I will.

For one of the cars... Right now I'm not sure which one deserves an upgrade!

(The Toyota still shifts harder. And weighs less. There is still a tiny part of my brain that says, "put the SBC in the littler car!!!")

Today it was more Toyota, because $10 of low grade gas goes a long way. I bought more food at the store. I baked potatoes today, but I really intended to make garlic and chicken.

I get paid tomorrow, yay.

I was really angry or unhappy, though. The car club had talked about not making the dyno public. This is the first non-rainy Saturday all month, and a dyno day has been in the works forever, so the undesirables are going to be there, naturally. I wish they realize they are ruining it for everyone.

Luckily, I was able to get the morning shift, so I will get to the dyno in the afternoon, and hopefully all the fireworks will be spent. I just want a drivable car!!!

At least it's thursday

I am out of gas money. I stayed home after work, and baked chicken and watched the Owl cam.

On Tuesday, after I posted, I sneaked the car out onto the now-dirt road and went to see the mechanic. He had bad news.
First of all, the car backfiring at 2000 rpm was *not* because I loosened a spark plug wire by accident. He says I need further tuning of the chip.
(I was there on Saturday and we did a preliminary test of the chip and everything checked out *perfectly.* So why is it going bad now?)

His son can only do computer work on Saturdays. This Saturday is the first saturday without rain for AGES. So everyone is going to take their cars to the dyno, which is a big deal. His son can also tune the chip at the dyno, which is actually better because I can test it at racing speeds, but the shop with the dyno charges by the hour.

Secondly, he discovered that a wire was loose from the transmission, which made it not shift hard for the past week that I've been driving it! And I am very freaked out.
The car has been drivable, but if I had known I would NOT have driven it. And It did slip once on Friday, (which I chalked up to my overactive imagination) and also didn't go into reverse very well on Monday night... (I tried to pretend it was due to the parking brake) I even remember thinking, the Toyota shifts harder than this? But because I know I am paranoid, and haven't driven the car in 4 months, I really couldn't be sure...
I try very hard to conserve my transmission, it isn't easy not to burn it up with so much horsepower! So this was more than a little disappointing.
Needless to say I won't be driving it until the backfiring can be fixed, which is Sat, I HOPE. Any other problems will happen when they do.
Sigh.

I found another neat video from my favorite YouTube make-up artist, unfortunately I don't have $10 to see the new Tim Burton movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOCzQ3pKGvk&feature=popw00us0d

Stuck at home

(Did I not upload this pic, already?)







The street crew is busy working on our street again today! They are finally going to re-pave it as planned. They have a machine that scrapes the top layer of asphalt and spits it out the front with a conveyor belt. A truck drives in front and collects the asphalt. Later they will mix it with new asphalt and make a new street.

Yesterday I changed the oil and must have knocked a spark plug wire loose. I can't find it, I'd like to take it to the mechanic but I got up too late, and the street crew had already started. I can get out, I guess, but I might get yelled at.

I'm out of gas money so I guess it's OK.

I've been watching the owl cam at Starr ranch. The two tiniest runt owls died in these past days, but the four remaining are large and healthy. It's funny to hear people get bent out of shape about it, wishing they could have been saved. It's nature, folks.

the cutest thing EVER

One of the nature centers has a live web cam of a nest of BABY BARN OWLS!

http://www.starrranch.org/blog/?page_id=2

They are all so adorable and very noisy and carnivorous!
The parents feed them several times a night!

I am mesmerized.
More about Barn Owls.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_Owl

I spot a barn owl about once or twice a year while driving at night, usually in south county.
I once saw a great horned owl while working late at night at a friend's community theater which is located in a tiny city park surrounded by huge pine trees. It swooped down to get a mouse that ran across the outdoor stage. I had no idea those even existed around here!

This is a really good year, lots of rain.

Life has returned to normal

Worked all day, drove around and raised hell all night.

(eventually I'll have to stop someplace and take pictures)

I don't even know what day it is

All I know, I get paid in 10 days and the price of gas went up 10 cents this week.
They must have heard the TA is up and running again!

The car was ready Monday evening, but when I picked it up, it still had issues starting!

It ended up being a pretty quick fix. It apparently still wasn't getting enough fuel during the starting temperatures. (But now we knew it wasn't the faulty fuel pump.)

Don is not the expert on chip burning, that would be his son Kevin. Kevin told Don where to look on the file for low fuel during start up. Don took my chip's program and compared it to one from a similar car. Sure enough, during the start, my car showed significantly lower levels of fuel.

We couldn't remember which file was on this car's chip currently, so we took a program from the most recent chip that he could find, (it was burned during a dyno session in February of last year.) Then he added fuel to the appropriate areas in the file, burned it, and installed it. Voila! The car starts smoothly now.

Now I need to wait until a weekend when there is no rain, and Kevin will hook up a laptop to the computer and the car will tell the laptop exactly what is going on. Then he can fine tune the fuel levels so that the car runs optimally at all speeds.

There are at least 50 variables with tables to adjust, some you don't want to mess with! Perhaps we never even changed the starting fuel level from a stock chip.
Also, sometimes we revert to a stock chip if there were too many changes made.
The new fuel pump changed the fuel ratios, anyway, requiring a new chip.

Maybe I should write these things down! I can't even remember all the parts that have been exchanged in these 9 years. When people ask what's been changed, I say "everything!" and that's the truth.

The sad part is when something starts to malfunction, and I know I've had it happen before, but I just can't remember what it was or how it was fixed!

Finally, after getting the computer chip to perform well on the street, there is a dyno session. On a dyno, the cars can run at full power, simulating a race condition. In a race, the car can (these kind go) 0 to 110 mph in about 11 to 13 seconds. You can't test that on the street.
The car is run on the dyno, and then changes are made to the chip until the air-fuel ratio is optimal and/or no more changes make a difference. Sometimes it takes 3 times and sometimes 5 or 6 runs. The air/fuel ratio is a guideline, but it's not exact for every car.

I've dynoed the car at least 5 times. Usually after a big, new part.

I'm just happy it starts now. That was the biggest thing that kept me from driving it.

Still resembles Sunday, Nascar

Somebody from the car club went to Nascar last weekend. Johnson won again this week.
I MIGHT actually pay attention to who is ahead... It's always exciting because the 2nd week is in CA but after that, not until Oct.













The next big race is the Long Beach Grand Prix, which is somewhat more interesting because they have a car expo in the adjacent convention center.

I promised Denise I would help at the barn. There wasn't much to do.
Denise's dad was well enough to get on the tractor and turn the arena. It's still all mud but very pretty and flat, now. At least there's a tractor now. We need a few tons of sand.

I went for a walk on the property.













A few weeks ago, Denise said somebody brought kids and they discovered a tire swing down at the bottom of the hill.
Today I finally saw where it was, but I didn't feel like hiking to it!













I haven't been to the beach all month. There's usually a kite festival this time of year but I guess I missed it.
There were tsunami warnings, here is a local website with a video. Didn't miss much.
(Still cut and paste until I figure out Links on this blog site.)
http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2010/02/27/chile-tsunami-wont-affect-california/90831/

Every day is like Sunday

It didn't rain much this week. I visited the barn on Friday and the lady with the pugs was there, she brought a cute litter of puppies to see, and a cute French Bulldog she just bought, here is Denise's dad and the dog.














All of this lady's pugs are this gentle, too. I can't get over it.

It rained a lot on Friday night and Denise's dad was supposed to help the other boarders cover the arena. It turned out he suffered a minor stroke but he's OK, just had some memory loss.

I went to visit Don again yesterday.

I have been kinda sad because even though nobody said anything, I can't shake this feeling of finality...

The dyno session had been cancelled again due to rain, for the second week in a row. They want me to dyno whenever it is, possibly this Saturday, because now my car will be done in time.

Don is doing EVERYTHING so that means, besides the fuel pump it needed, the starter that just broke, and the leaking rear main seal, (which ended up being a leaking oil pan,) a new set of gears for the rear end.
Also, when he took down the transmission to fix the oil leak, (which I wanted him to do because that means checking for problems,) he discovered that some teeth had been broken off of the flywheel, so a new used one of those too.
It's entirely possible that it was all caused by the bad fuel pump, but...

I am SO nervous, I don't think I'll believe the car's OK, even if it starts again!
It should be ready Monday...

Here's a neat old Pontiac leaving the country from the import exporters.

I have a blog!

Really?
Actually I have been watching American Idol and the Olympics all week.
I'll be happy never to see another snow sport again for 4 years, and I don't like ANY of the idols right now.

Yesterday, the stars lined up, and my mechanic has the GTA now. The starter broke while trying to get it moving, which is not a good thing...

I left him alone with it but didn't hear back, usually he calls to ask for parts money. Besides the starter it needed a a fuel pump, (the "reason" it needed work) in fact while draining the fuel tank (the whole rear end needs to be removed to get to it) the pump sounded like a coffee percolator! Instead of humming. We agreed a long time ago to fix the persistent leaking rear main seal, but that's going to be alot of crap to fix...

And it was hard enough just to push the car into the garage! He really hasn't done more than 2 cars since October (when it got so bad, I quit driving it.) I *TOLD* him, where ever I shut it off, it wasn't going to move again. Although we didn't anticipate the BRAND NEW starter shattering into pieces. Why it did, I don't want to know... I know I've had some scary starts, which is why I quit driving it. We haven't even gotten to discussing the motor yet, so far just trying to get it up and running...

It's funny but I have a 6th sense about the car dying, many times I have gone to the mechanic the day before something blew up, unable to explain or repeat what it had done. It's a machine, so if something seems "off," it very seldom gets better!

But I am SO happy that it's there!
I'm guessing the car is all apart right now and tomorrow he will need the parts.

Ass Wednesday

I was happy to discover how much weight I lost working at the barn yesterday so I went back today.

Yesterday I raked the entire dirt road and overnight, the 1 foot deep ruts were back. I know who it is, with the huge truck!
It doesn't look like it will ever rain again but it will, in 2 days. Then it will be a quagmire again. It's pointless to try to iron it out, it's still muddy, but it's a good workout and I'm manic this week.

I love this place! There are tools everywhere and nobody for miles, and most of it is public land.

Denise wants to grade the hillside so the water runs out of the arena instead of forming a swimming pool. There are these old eucalyptus logs in the way, that couldn't be cut with the sharp axe because they are petrified, but they could be shattered into pieces. I found the pickaxe and got rid of a few.

It was great to take out the leftover stress from work yesterday.
I can't wait to get to work today! It's the second biggest day of the year.

One of the boarder's horses got cast. This means he went to lay down for a nap in the sun (horses do this alot) and his entire head and front legs were sticking out from under one part of the pipe-stall and the back legs were under another.
I think his name is Buddy. He's a chestnut dun. I don't have a picture of him.

Last month he had a twisted intestine and went to the hospital, where they drugged him and rolled him around and got it back into place, without surgery.
He still has the shaved patch on his neck.

Image of freeze-dried horse intestine, from the Equine Affaire.













He cribs, which means he will grab onto a side of the stall and hang on, and swallow air. This, along with laying down alot would suggest ulcers or sand in the gut, but that's up to the owners to deal with...
They put him in a cribbing collar, which is a tight collar around his neck which doesn't let him gulp air, but it's kind of sad. He has to wear it 24 hours. I think that's why I don't have picture of him.

Horses used to get stuck under their pipe stalls alot at the big public stable where I used to ride. Denise has wood attached to the sides of all her stalls, as well as half of the arena, so this can't happen.

Buddy has been stuck before, so he lay very still and didn't thrash, which would have been a disaster. I was scared to get close, but he seemed to know what was up. We dismantled the corral around him, then looped some rope around his legs and put a halter on him. We called some local people and the two ladies helped us pull. We tried to roll him over. He barely budged! I don't know how Denise dragged him the last time.
It didn't seem like he moved, but moved enough so that his legs were free of the bars. He was going into shock, and just lay there, so we had to splash water on him, and then he got up.

The owner came from work and she gave him a bran mash with oil and electrolytes. The horses like to eat the mash, which is like raisin bran, minus the raisins. It is mixed with alot of water, which hydrates them. The electrolytes is basically powdered Gatorade, which also tastes good. The oil keeps them regular, because their digestion has to keep moving constantly.

He was only down for 10 minutes but that is a serious deal, they can get dehydrated very easily. Luckily it happened while people were there. It was interesting to see what everyone did.
I'm sure he will be ok for now, except for a tiny scratch on one foot, but with his problems, it will be difficult in the long run..

Happy Mardi Gras!

I felt like I didn't do anything all weekend, but I have tons of pictures to sort through and post.

I wasn't going to do anything Saturday except work, and there was the Lunar New Year. There were dragon dancers and I took pictures, but I got in trouble for neglecting the office. (We haven't had any thefts lately, so I'm really optimistic that they got the guy.)

A lot of Asian cultures, give out money in little envelopes on the New Year. Here the kids are "feeding" their money to the dragon.













I went to the beach really early, Saturday, but I was depressed and it wasn't exciting. The good thing is, I was able to climb the steps without dying this time!

There is a large space in the living room that needs a painting, and I don't have time to sit and paint on site, so I'm hoping one of my pictures turns out nice so I can copy it. I didn't like any of those.

Sunday I did nothing but I have been painting a lot in my sketchbook. I don't like much of it, though.

On Monday we visited and took the Uncle to the cemetery to see the new headstone, and he was understandably upset. That took most of the day.

Today I finally decided to go to the barn and I leveled the ruts in the driveway, again. It's a good workout. I can't believe it's still muddy! Unfortunately it will rain again on Friday. (I hope it doesn't rain for the NASCAR!)














I got to ride Hoss again for the first time since before Christmas, mostly because of the rain and bad footing, and my being lazy. He has had a lot of training since Dec. and he moves very well now. I'm excited to ride again, it has been awhile, since Penny died.

The arena has turned into sandy cemented clay with hoof holes in it, which is a big disappointment. It needs more sand but it would cost about $1500 for another inch of sand. The good news is the _________ family has fixed up the tractor so we can drag now.

I visited Don today too, and he is doing better, he is working on Vincent's car! I went because I got this idea that it was a bad relay in my car, hoping that I could find it, but he says no. It will still be a week until he can do my car. I bet. But it's getting closer.













The exporters had an 80's corvette with a Ferrari body kit, just like the Miami vice version but uglier and red. Tacky! Glad it's leaving the country. That's one of my favorite cars though.

Here's my Toyota, the ugly duckling in the parking lot!

I think it's officially Friday now.

I heard there was a lot of snow in Dallas!

They've been saying they caught the guy who stole all the stuff from the church, but no one has been able to contact the detective!

More going on in the car club, but I can't talk about it, until it is official. I haven't been the only person offended.

My neighbor says her dad is doing better, and talking now, and they transferred him to a care facility where he will gain mobility of his limbs.

I just heard the designer Alexander McQueen is dead, he was a very daring clothing designer, I always remember they called him Macabre McQueen, and it's very sad.

Do you know your motors? This is a quiz. (Cut and paste as usual, until I find out how to properly post links.)
http://www.americantorque.com/game/engine-id/

I haven't been to the stable all week...

I watched 5 more minutes of the "LOST" season 1 and I realized I hate the actors and that's why I never watched it.

I had a lot of dreams lately about an english type Hunt with horses and hounds, and going to the grocery, and various vampires, and vegas and I'll try to make pictures in my journal, because that's what I wanted my blog to be about.

Lost Wednesday

I don't watch a lot of tv.
I haven't watched a lot of tv since I got my car almost 10 years ago.
Number one, I've been working nights that whole time, and number two, even if I get home at 9 pm, it takes me awhile to settle down and TV is not my way to do it. Not when I had a hot rod, and LA beckoning, and all that. I was lucky to get home by 3 am. And number three, I have ADD so I can't sit still for 30 minutes, even for something I like, like American Idol.

So, I really did not know what "Lost" was. I don't know why I decided to finally watch Dad's Season 1 DVD's, that I found. I think I mentally grouped it with, "The Lost World," or something with dinosaurs? I'm not a big fan of Survivor either, but I watched those first seasons.
I guess it pissed me off, when one of my websites showed an actor from LOST last week, and I had NO IDEA who he was or what it referred to! I hate being behind in the times. Especially now that it's 2010.

Well, nobody lives in a vacuum, I had to have seen the commercials, so I guess I should not be surprised thart I have watched 3 MINUTES of the pilot and some guy running through BAMBOO, and people staggering around, and it really DID remind me of my walk on the beach on Sunday???

And a plane crash, (I HATE airplanes, I have had a huge phobia since birth) and the stupid engine won't shut off... I'm going to have nightmares! So now I'm unable to watch any more than 3 minutes of the pilot!!!

Of course, now that I started, I HAVE to watch it. Better late than never, just like this internet thing.

I wonder if that old website I made in 1996 is still around?

I wish my Trans Am was fixed. Then I wouldn't wonder about any of these things. I'd just be gone.

Middle of a week

The chinese new year/ lunar new year is coming up soon!
It's my favorite animal, the tiger.
My year was the snake. I think your year comes up every 12 years.
There are various asian groups in the area and at my job, so it will be an interesting weekend.

Here is my favorite youtube make-up tutorial artist, I have yet to see any other one that's so easy to follow! Her latest make-up is tiger. I found this person's youtubes on Halloween and they are really great tips, especially for specific costume "looks."
http://www.youtube.com/user/MichellePhan
(Also I love the music in all the tutorials!)

I got invited to see the NASCAR on the 21st! By the people I used to play softball with, with the party last Friday, not the car club. I'll post info as I get it.

Otherwise not much else going on, except work, work, and work.
I'm glad about the rain, because it keeps people away from the office (I get paid the same regardless) and I have plenty of time to paint.
I noticed all of my drawings from the last few days have included trees. I painted this one today:


I had to cut it off from the rest of the page. I like to paint landscapes, but I think they are boring, unless I include a character in them. My muse is usually a copy-righted character that belongs to someone else! I am working up to it, it is hard to publish my personal art, but I think it would be best not to show them right now.

Somebody whose purse was stolen from their car at work, got a report back from a detective and maybe they caught the thief! I hope... It's been quiet lately.

I've been avoiding the barn, I'm so OCD I'm always rearranging the dirt or something, even when I'm the only person there! I heard the rain got under the tarps this time... I think my next day off will be Sunday.

Mom is doing good, going stir crazy at home. She was talking about rearranging the furniture...

About 2 inches of my sketchbook, Monday:

Looks like a monday

Mom had chest pains this morning and spent the day in the hospital.
She came back looking spry as ever, and they didn't find anything, but stress.
Considering the events lately, it didn't surprise me at all.

Yesterday she visited the neighbor who got beaten almost to death. The family says he is hanging on, and recognizes them. I hope they catch the SOB's who beat a senior citizen... The doctor wants Mom to walk more, but the neighborhood is just so scary!

In the news, the person they convicted of killing that girl across the street (her brother, with DNA, 20 years after the fact) died of natural causes in prison before the trial. I hate the criminal justice system. Now he'll never get a fair trial and also we'll never know what evidence they had.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/lopez-233157-never-patricia.html
They moved away after that, they no longer live across the street.

I got a surprise phone call, and found out what had happened at the car club meeting. I am glad somebody else is standing up for themselves. I really can't say much about it, because it doesn't directly involve me. I used to be picked on alot as a kid, so now I just get so mad, when friends of mine are picked on! But they need to stand up for themselves...

I found a new crazy car site, it's called "You Drive What?" and I will put it into the favorites.
http://www.youdrivewhat.com/

Fugly went to the Affaire and posted about it in her blog.
http://www.fuglyblog.com/

Super Sunday!

(Saturday, continued, too.)

Well, I shouldn't have gone to the car club meeting.
I got there at 8 pm, and everyone was still there! Yay.
The restaurant was nothing special. Everyone said the meal was just Ok.
About when I realized my mechanic and son were not there, somebody told me they had not attended the dinner, but stayed in the parking lot, and then stormed off.

I was very mad at the MC. Last weekend there was a car show and he organized a cruise to it (I refused to attend) and he said something offensive to the mechanic's son. And, at just about every event since October, this MC has had something to complain about. This is why I have not gone to the last 3 events! His argument for his behavior is that it attracts interest and nobody else takes charge of events...

I wouldn't have gone to this meeting either, but the mechanic convinced me to let bygones be, and also, somebody else had a new, unusual part to discuss. I'm glad I didn't see whatever happened... I will have to visit my mechanic soon and see what it was.

Link to (not my) Pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46094364@N07/sets/72157623373297348/

On Sunday, I got up at 2 and refused to do anything sociable, including watching the Superbowl.
Instead I went to the beach because it was my only day off.
I began to take pictures of the same old sunset, when I noticed some unusual things on the sand below the pier. It looked like tee-pees. I thought maybe it was a Native American festival?













I got off the pier, which I seldom do, and walked on the sand. Some kids were building one too.












I asked another little kid if this was a project and he said no.
He said he wanted some one to pull the string.
I said, but if I pull the string it will fall down!
He said it was OK.
I didn't pull the string.















Apparently, the storm had washed ashore a whole bunch of driftwood, and tons of bamboo from the riverbeds. Whoever was on the beach Sunday built these for fun!















































So then, I had to make my own.
It's sort of a fence-house.
If I wasn't such a scary, grown up, frazzled woman, maybe I would have finished it.

The beach is made of imported sand.
In the morning, a tractor will come and bulldoze everything.


Oh, and I saw a reference to "Lost" on GFY, and realized I have never seen ANY portion of this show, but I found the DVD. Maybe I am missing something?

My weekend in review

On Friday after work, it was pouring rain.
D_____ said his party was still on! Like most of his get-togethers, there was pool in his garage and lots of food. This time, he had borrowed a really nice projector and had a movie going from his laptop, and a lot of beach umbrellas. I sat on a covered porch swing with a beer, and watched "The Hangover" while my feet got rained on, and somebody was a DJ with the ipod. I really felt like I was being where I was and when I was (in CA in 2010.)


Saturday I got up at 7 and went to the barn. Denise's friend took us to Hometown Buffet with her family for breakfast. The lady with the pugs and another, didn't show up because it was still raining. We picked up two horse-crazy teenagers and we were off to the Equine Affaire.
I don't have a horse so I had no need of $100 boots (that go on the horse!) on sale for $15 and saddles covered with fake rhinestones that cost more than my car. Still, I got several free samples of food, (some of it was dog food, and I bet my rabbit can eat the others,) magazines, posters and even some mane and tail conditioner, which every girl knows is better than any human hair products.

Denise said this Gypsy looked like Gene Simmons from KISS. I was like, wha?











Oh, I see.

















We only had time to see one trainer's clinic in the arena. Denise said we had to see this one. I didn't care who it was, most of them are crackpots, but to my surprise, it ended up being Stacy Westfall.
After giving her tips and doing the clinic, which was simple, old school, (a lot like Denise's way) she took the tack off the horse, and did a performance to music. I realized I had seen a YouTube video of this young lady, before! She is absolutely my favorite trainer, and it made my day. I will find the link...
old:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-7v8Ck1crg

older:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZIYM76mYag&feature=related

Yes, from the looks that horse cost at least 40 grand, and she said later that it takes 800 hours IN THE SADDLE to reach that level. But still awesome.



The car club dinner, which I was apprehensive about attending, was to be at 6 pm.
We got done walking the booths closer to 7, but then the teenagers decided they wanted to stay until the end, and they had to find rides. Luckily everyone knows everyone else there and we got out by 7:30.

It was 8pm and I decided to go to the club meeting at the restaurant, even though I had the Toyota and I had sworn I wouldn't go as long as ____ was running the show...
To be continued...

Thursday: It's almost like Friday

So far it has been a busy week, but no new deaths or thefts at work.

Some people I used to work with and play softball with, are having a get together tomorrow night! I haven't seen them in a long time.

I'm taking Saturday off to go to Equine Affaire, which is like a trade show for horse people, and it features big name trainers. I've never been to it, because I always forget what weekend it's on.

The car club meeting is going to be Saturday night. One of the members insisted that I should go, because it will be at a great restaurant, one that I've never been to. If it's that great, they will surely go back there again sometime. Meanwhile, until the ugliness in the club settles down, I'm staying away.

Today and yesterday I made earrings, and fantasized about making my own clothes.

Chance of Rain all Week

The weekend was more of the same, as last month.






On Friday, when things were slow, I would walk outside of my office exactly every 5 minutes to see who was lurking in the parking lot. (A car was stolen last Friday, and 2 cars broken into early Saturday.) I saw some suspicious people, and remembered their faces, but nothing was stolen.
I can't keep doing that, though, because A: I'll get in trouble at work for neglecting my post, and B: it cuts into my painting time.

Denise called and said that the property manager had finally bought sand and rented a tractor and was going to grade the hard clay arena and install sand this weekend.

On Saturday, I planned to go to the barn and see the sand. I walked outside and there was a police car in the street alongside the Corsica, but no police. The neighbors were standing around, staring, but that's normal. I decided to stick around, and see who was visited by the police that day.

I checked the fluids in the cars and tried to start the GTA again, because it wouldn't last week. To my surprise, the battery wasn't dead and neither was the car. I drove it around a little. It's still messed up, but it will turn on a dime, and what 10 mph feels like in the Toyota is 50 in the TA. Once it was warmed up and I got back, it wouldn't start again. I miss my cocaine.

After I saw who was visited by the police, (my neighbor,) I went to the mechanic, and he was finally better. He was able to convince the doctors to give him medicine. (Don't use Kaiser.) I still don't have a date for the fixing of my car, because he is still working on the same project as last time.

Then I visited the barn, nothing new going on there, until the next day.

I got to work at 2pm and shortly afterward, another car was broken into. I hadn't seen anyone unusual in the parking lot when I drove up. It really pissed me off.

My neighbor stopped by at work for business! At first I didn't know who he was until he told me. I heard what had happened, the grandfather next door had gone for a walk to a neighborhood store, and got mugged and beaten in the head, and went missing for two days, until he was located in a hospital with skull fractures. He's unconscious and can't talk or move, and after that, my weekend sucked even more.

On Sunday I went to the barn and there were some friends of Denise with a handicapped young man, who is the son of the pug breeder, and we hung around and had chips and beer and pugs. Meanwhile the property manager drove a tractor around for hours and hours, getting the arena graded.

Finally everyone left and we helped spread sand around and it looks professional. I was too tired to take pictures. We need more sand. I'll go back there today, eventually.

The aunt called and said she found high blood pressure in the uncle, but the good thing is, she is convincing him to take medicine for it. She threatened to call a doctor from the city to make a house call! She also reviewed his diet, he claimed he was not eating unhealthy food, but she discovered he was eating all of the groceries she was bringing him, like 5 dozen eggs at a time (suprise.)
I'm kind of mad.
He called at 7:30 am (just now) and says he went for a walk, and doesn't want a doctor to visit him.

I'm probably not going to the beach anytime soon. Anyway, the weather is overcast and 30-40% chance of rain all week.

I found this interesting (to me) website, where a lady takes one boring dress and wears it every day of the week but in a different way with different accessories. It's very inspirational, because I mostly wear jeans and t shirts, and I'm afraid to wear different things like that.
http://www.theuniformproject.com/

Wednesday/Thursday

Today I slept in as much as I could. The city came and finally chopped up the curb in front of our house. They used a bobcat with something that looked like a giant tattoo needle over the top of it.




I've seen these before, probably during the years that I took the bus, and had nothing better to do than stare at road crews for hours. It took them 5 minutes and it shook the whole house.

Then the phone rang all day. My aunt says she is going to take her nursing equipment and look at my uncle, even though he hasn't taken even an aspirin in 50 years (and won't) and wants to die.

Work was nice, not many people showed up, nothing was stolen and I was able to paint in my sketchbook.

Yesterday I went to start the TA and it finally wouldn't. So I will have to tow it to the mechanic, whenever that is. At least, it didn't seem to sieze up this time. It's either out of fuel or battery.

I am getting used to driving the Toyota, I can take it almost everywhere I used to go with the TA and not be embarrassed to be seen in it. (Unlike the Corsica.) The one place I am NOT going to take it is the next Club meeting on Feb. 6.
Or to work, where it could be stolen...

It's not quite Tuesday, yet.

Sunday, continued:
















What did I find down in the ravine? No snow, (I heard today that it all melted on Saturday.)








Instead, a huge, amazing waterfall. The biggest I had ever seen.

The waterfall was divided into three sections of about 15 to 20 feet. I kept hearing water from somewhere else and hiking upward to find another waterfall!




I ended up staying an hour or two. I got a parking ticket for $5, something about a Forest Adventure Pass that I never knew they enforced. But easy to fix, and if I am going back like I plan to, I definitely need one of those passes.

















I can't believe it had been there all along. That explains the huge turnouts on both sides of the highway, which always have people parked on them.


















On Monday I was very sore from hiking.
The city came and noisily mulched the tree that was in front of the house. I eventually went to the barn and moved dirt around: filling sandbags, digging trenches, and trying to iron out the driveway only to have people drive on it again.
Today the city will start taking apart the sidewalks again. I might have to drive the Uncle somewhere.

Fear Of Boredom

The fear of boredom is called Thaasophobia.
The fear of the sea is called Thalassophobia.
Anyway.

On Sunday I got up early due to a wayward alarm clock and then accidently drank caffinated coffee, and after that there was no chance of sleeping in.
I found out that two cars got their windows smashed either Saturday night or Sunday morning. One belongs to the "security guard" and the other belongs to my main "boss."



Around noon I went to the barn. The drive had become a quagmire again so I had to park down the street.








Denise was at a tack sale, but another boarder was there to fill me in. Even though they'd had 8 inches of rain, there was a large dry spot in the arena, so the tarps worked.













I knew if I stayed, I would become obsessed with ironing out the driveway again, and it was just too bright and sunny to work, so I left.
I had seen snow on the local mountains and I was determined I could drive to it!

Unfortunately, the snow was on Santiago Peak, which seems to be accessible only after a long, long hike. The only highway going through the mountain range, Ortega, is farther south. The veiw from the Lookout was boring, it was a boring kind of day. There were only a handful of cars and bikes, which was unusual for a Sunday. I had never taken the Toyota so far or on such roads, but it did OK.















On the way back down, I noticed a lot of cars parked in the turnout next to a canyon. I had seen ice on some of the road sides that get no sunlight, so I stopped to see if maybe they had found snow. I could hear the loud sound of water, and people having a good time, so I found a parking space and hiked down to see...